Darren Shan has been made a half-vampire by Mr Crepsley, but the Cirque Du Freak holds more unpleasant surprises for the vampire's assistant.

Synopsis:

Darren Shan has been made a half-vampire by Mr Crepsley, but the Cirque Du Freak holds more unpleasant surprises for the vampire's assistant. Darren joins the vampire, Mr Crepsley, as his assistant and they return to the Cirque Du Freak. There, Darren makes friends with the snake-boy, Evra Von (who knows what Darren is) and a local boy, Sam, and RV, an eco-warrior and animal lover (who do not). Darren begins to enjoy his life among the Cirque performers as the youngest half-vampire in existence, but he defiantly refuses to drink human blood - the whole idea sickens him - and he tries desperately to cling on to the part of him which is human. Darren comes face to face with pure evil in the form of Mr Tiny, the leader of the Little People who join the Cirque Du Freak, and who eat anything - including human flesh. When he discovers animal bones, RV frees the wolf-man from his cage - and no-one could possibly guess how truly terrible the whole effect would be.

Nancy Parker has a new job, she's accompanying her old school teacher Miss Lamb as a ladies' maid to Midwinter Manor. But things take a turn for the worst when Nancy discovers a dead body in the library. With a house full of strange guests, who could possibly be the murderer?

Containing a wealth of survival knowledge, this book teaches you: how to make fire; how to navigate; how to administer first-aid; how to survive a bear attack; how to drive off-road; how to fly a plane in an emergency; and how to escape a burning building. It also includes 100 other essential skills to survive the modern world.